Wendy Davis became a political star after her much-hyped filibuster of an abortion bill while wearing pink sneakers. The bill in question was eventually passed, but Davis is still reaping the benefits of her media generated national fame. An analysis
by John Sexton18 Mar 2014, 10:54 AM PST0
Obamacare “enrollment” in qualified health plans has now reached 5 million according to an announcement posted on the HHS website Monday. As with all the previous “enrollment” milestones, we know for certain this one isn’t true. What we don’t know
by John Sexton18 Mar 2014, 9:21 AM PST0
The biggest Obamacare story last week was belated attention given to a little noticed hardship exemption that seems broad enough to allow almost anyone to claim exemption from the law’s individual mandate. Rather than report on the exemption itself and
by John Sexton17 Mar 2014, 2:50 PM PST0
Anti-government protests continued in Venezuela over the weekend and so did the government crackdown against them. Police raided Altamira Square in Caracas, using tear gas and water cannons to push back protesters. Unconfirmed video shot yesterday shows a group of
by John Sexton17 Mar 2014, 9:47 AM PST0
Venezuela is in danger of being cut off from the rest of the world as air carriers consider cutting flights because the government refuses to pay them in currency other than the increasingly worthless Bolivar. Currently, international air carriers are
by John Sexton14 Mar 2014, 5:02 PM PST0
In a letter sent today, Rep. Darrell Issa, Chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, accuses ranking member Rep. Elijah Cummings of acting as if he were a defense attorney for former IRS employee Lois Lerner. He also
by John Sexton14 Mar 2014, 12:05 PM PST0
An exemption is only an exemption if people know about it. That’s why the White House kept a broad hardship exemption to Obamacare’s individual mandate quiet, including leaving it off the official exemption page on Healthcare.gov for nearly three months.
by John Sexton14 Mar 2014, 9:43 AM PST0
A broad exemption to the individual mandate which only requires people to claim they had “another hardship” first appeared on the relevant HealthCare.gov page in the past 24 hours. Another narrower exemption for people with cancelled policies, which was announced
by John Sexton13 Mar 2014, 3:14 PM PST0

President Maduro of Venezuela has decided that cutting off access to news sources critical of his government isn’t enough. This week he launched a new radio show called “En Contacto Con Maduro” which translates In Touch with Maduro. The show
by John Sexton13 Mar 2014, 12:00 PM PST0
In a TV interview, the Mayor of San Cristóbal, Venezuela, Daniel Caballos, lamented the killing earlier this week of student protester Daniel Tinoco. Caballos placed blame for the shooting on government aligned militants known as “colectivos.” “These ‘colectivo’ groups arrive
by John Sexton12 Mar 2014, 3:21 PM PST0

A piece in the Wall Street Journal is getting attention for the claim that the Obama administration has made the individual mandate optional. There is some truth to this though the changes being discussed happened months ago. In fact, the
by John Sexton12 Mar 2014, 10:40 AM PST0
Obamacare enrollment continued to slide off December highs in February with HHS reporting 940,000 people enrolled last month. In addition the percentage of “young invincibles” signing up was the same as in January, just 27 percent. That’s far short of
by John Sexton11 Mar 2014, 3:13 PM PST0
The 22nd person killed in clashes in Venezuela was 24-year-old protester Daniel Tinoco. Tinoco, who was considered a student leader of the protests, was shot in the chest sometime after 10pm. Eyewitnesses to the incident say he was killed by
by John Sexton11 Mar 2014, 1:36 PM PST0
Darrell Issa’s Committee on Oversight and Government Reform issued a staff report Tuesday aimed squarely at Lois Lerner and her involvement in the IRS targeting of conservative groups. The report suggests Lerner misled Congress in four instances and attempted to
by John Sexton11 Mar 2014, 11:21 AM PST0
Earlier today Sharyl Attkisson announced on Twitter that she was leaving CBS News. Early reports suggest the split was “amicable” though Attkisson is said to have wanted to leave because she had grown frustrated with the network’s “liberal bias.” Specifically,
by John Sexton10 Mar 2014, 2:37 PM PST0
The hyperlink, which means that no news story ever really needs to end, seemed revolutionary a decade or so ago but is almost taken for granted today. Now comes Ezra Klein and his new Vox.com site to bring us “explanatory
by John Sexton10 Mar 2014, 12:17 PM PST0
When bloggers at Think Progress became too critical of President Obama’s Afghanistan war policy their bosses at the Center for American Progress heard about it from the White House. Shortly thereafter, Think Progress writers were “berated” by supervisors for “creating
by John Sexton10 Mar 2014, 9:38 AM PST0

There are things you expect to see at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) and there are things you don’t. One of the things you probably don’t is an audience cheering and applauding arguments for legalizing pot and bemoaning the
by John Sexton7 Mar 2014, 8:47 AM PST0
The National Security Action Conference hosted by Breitbart News across the street from CPAC featured a panel on the Benghazi scandal Thursday. There was a consistent message at the panel: We haven’t heard the complete truth about what happened in
by John Sexton6 Mar 2014, 10:58 AM PST0
Lois Lerner appeared briefly before Rep. Darrell Issa’s Oversight Committee Wednesday morning and once again asserted her 5th amendment right not to answer questions. But back in October 2010 Lerner did speak to a group of at Duke’s Sanford School
by John Sexton5 Mar 2014, 10:12 AM PST0
Russian Special Forces faced off with members of the Ukrainian Navy today at a base located in the city of Sevastopol. According to a report, the Russians entered a Ukrainian Navy training base to collect weapons. When they tried to
by John Sexton2 Mar 2014, 12:38 PM PST0
Remember the Peanuts cartoon where Lucy promises to hold the football for Charlie Brown then pulls it away at the last moment? Something similar happened between the U.S. and Russia this week. From the Russian soldiers now stationed in Crimea
by John Sexton28 Feb 2014, 10:42 PM PST0
A news blog in Crimea has been collecting information on what the new Ukrainian leadership is calling an invasion and the U.S. is now calling an “uncontested arrival” by Russia into Crimea. This first clip shows Russian helicopters headed for
by John Sexton28 Feb 2014, 3:45 PM PST0
The woman who was filmed being beaten by police earlier this week has spoken about her experience in an interview with a regional news station. Wednesday Breitbart News posted video of a woman protester being held down on the street
by John Sexton28 Feb 2014, 1:37 PM PST0
As protests in Venezuela enter their third week, some parts of Caracas have become an urban war zone. One of the tactics adopted by some of the protesters has been to blockade streets as a way to keep police and
by John Sexton28 Feb 2014, 10:26 AM PST0